Motorists travel along Cajalco Road where it meets Interstate 215 in 2015 in Perris. Lawsuits by environmental groups that were blocking that and a truck lane project on the 60 Freeway have been settled, it was announced Tuesday, July 3. (File photo by Frank Bellino, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Under the agreement between Riverside County and the groups, the money will be spent to mitigate potential impacts of the projects.

The Mid-County Parkway is a proposed six-lane freeway between Perris and San Jacinto. The State Route 60 Truck Lanes Project would add lanes in each direction to the freeway in the Badlands area between Moreno Valley and Beaumont.

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“This agreement is an important step to reduce the harm these freeways do to Riverside County’s neighborhoods and wildlife,” Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “Ultimately, our state has to move away from building new freeways and toward cleaner, more sustainable transportation solutions.”

San Jacinto Councilman Andrew Kotyuk, a representative to the Riverside County Transportation Commission board, said he’s elated to hear about the settlement, especially for the Mid-County Parkway.

“I know the San Jacinto Valley is going to be overjoyed that a settlement was reached, and those dollars are going to preserve the majestic beauty in our valley,” he said.

He believes the project will be a conduit for more jobs and businesses for the community.

The Mid-County Parkway, a 16-mile road between Interstate 215 and State Route 79 would be an alternative to the Ramona Expressway, where there have been a number of fatal crashes in the past month.

The State Route 60 Truck Lanes Project will add an eastbound truck-climbing lane and a westbound truck-descending lane along 4.5 miles of the freeway from Gilman Springs Road east of Moreno Valley to Jack Rabbit Trail near Beaumont.

The lanes are not to increase capacity but are a safety project for the highway, which has two lanes going in each direction and is known for its tight, twisting roadway on a steep grade that often leads to trucks slowing down while cars try to pass.

“Both of these projects will save lives,” Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley said in a statement. “I’m happy we have found a way to protect the motoring public and our naturalenvironment with this settlement.”

Truck traffic looking eastbound along Highway 60 in the Badlands between Moreno Valley and Beaumont. A settlement between environmental groups and transportation agencies will allow truck lanes to be added to the freeway. (File photo by Kurt Miller, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

The environmental groups challenged both projects in court but were defeated and appealed.

“This is additional validation of RCTC’s role in protecting the quality of life in Riverside County,” RCTC Chairman Dana Reed, an Indian Wells Councilman, said in a statement. “Progress andenvironmental protection can take place at the same time, and it’s never more important when lives are on the line; this will make traveling much safer.”

The money will be used to protect wildlife habitat, install air filtration devices in homes and schools, construct solar energy panels at commuter rail stations and fund park renovations in affected communities.

The settlement also increases incentives for public transit and carpooling, provides increased pedestrian and cycling access, increases safety measures for drivers and protects key wildlife corridors.

“Today’s agreement provides an important opportunity to save wildlife habitat and agricultural lands in the San Jacinto Valley,” said Drew Feldmann, chairman of the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society Conservation said in a statement. “Growth and sprawl follow freeway development and we need to do all that we can to keep areas protected, not paved over.”

More than $13 million from the agreement is dedicated to acquiring and protecting wildlife habitat, including areas surrounding the San Jacinto Wildlife Area and vernal pool habitat.

The settlement was reached between the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, Friends of the Northern San Jacinto Valley, Residents for a Livable Moreno Valley, Riverside County Transportation Commission and the California Department of Transportation. As part of the agreement, the conservation groups will withdraw their legal challenges to the freeways.

Craig Shultz reports on communities in Riverside County, primarily Hemet, Menifee, Perris and San Jacinto. A journalist for more than three decades, he has reported on everything from sports to city halls and schools. He was previously the editor of The Hemet News and The Valley Chronicle. Shultz was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and graduated from Cal State Northridge.